This calculator will help you to determine how much money you need to invest on a monthly basis now, in order to be able to pay for your child's college education by the time they are ready to start college. The calculator allows you to choose between In-State and Out-of-State, between Resident and Commuter and between Public or Private -- and adjusts the estimated costs according to those selections. Plus, the calculator even adjusts the future cost of attending college based on your own estimated rate of inflation.

Projected Total Four-Year Costs of Attending College: Four-year costs are based on The College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges for the 2005-2006 school year and include tuition, room and board (adjusted by "resident"/"commuter" selection), transportation, books, and other expenses. The costs are enrollment-weighted and inflated based upon your selected estimated annual rate of inflation. An 8% annual return on investment is assumed but does not represent a specific security. The calculator also assumes no additional investments or earnings once the child starts school and that investments are made at the beginning of each school year.

The large text box will display detailed instructions/information when clicking in or tabing into any text box.

1. Student's name.

Instruct/Explain

2. Years till college.

3. Current savings.

4. Outside funding.

5. Gross annual income.

6. Est. Annual Inflation Rate.

7. Student Type.

ResidentCommuter

8. College type.

PublicPrivate

9. College location.

In-stateOut-of-State

10. Start year.

Instruct/Explain

11. Future tuition cost.

12. Current savings FV.

13. Future savings/funding.

14. Total savings gap.

15. Monthly deposit required.

16. Percent of annual Income.

Information and interactive calculators are made available to you as self-help tools for your independent use. We cannot and do not guarantee their accuracy or their applicability to your circumstances. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.